Serve Air An-26 badly damaged in Goma accident

Images circulating on social media indicate that an Antonov An-26B badly damaged in an apparent landing accident at Goma was being operated by cargo carrier Serve Air.

The turboprop (9S-AFL) came to rest on rough ground, on its fuselage underside, with damage to its starboard wing and propeller.

Serve Air is based in the Democratic Republic of Congo and operates a fleet of freighters including Boeing 727-200s and 737-300s.

Flight Fleets Analyzer lists the An-26 as 32-year old airframe originally delivered to Aeroflot before being transferred to KrasAir.

The aircraft, according to local news outlet Politico, had departed on a domestic service to Kisangani on 10 September but returned to Goma following an engine failure, and suffered an excursion on landing. None of the four crew, it says, was injured.

Serve Air is among the carriers blacklisted by the European Commission under a blanket ban on the Democratic Republic of Congo.